I walked up to the stall, circling
the horse inside. I put her on the definite possibility list. My
husband and clients looked at me as if I were a crazy person. They saw
a raggedy, thin filly that was full of burrs, rough feet, matted mane,
and a huge gash on her leg. I saw the beautiful fine boned face, the
nice top line, the well rounded full hip, and straight legs. The filly
had a deep calm eye, and was quiet upon my approach. In my minds eye, I
could see her all shed out, feet done, well groomed, and well fed. I
had also taken a peek at the pedigree, and knew that in the bloodlines
there lay potential. If you have never been to a horse auction, it is
well worth going. I have a few that I frequent to get a feel for how
things are selling, and to see trends in colors and or bloodlines. The
best bargain months are August through November. Your best chance of
making money is between February and May. Now a days, any time is a
good time for us horse folks to be looking for bargains thanks to our
mediocre economy. For those of us that need to rehome a horse or two
and want to get top dollar for our horse, now is the time to do our prep
work.

It is imperative
that you frequent the auction you plan on buying or selling from. If
you donít frequent it, find someone who does that can give you the
information on the auction. You want to make sure it is a reputable
outfit for both buyers and sellers. Now is the time for the sellers to
begin thinking of when they want to sell their horses. The prices in
general are usually up in late winter to early spring. The purchasing
crowd is beginning to pine for those open trails, and the competing in
the show rings. They need to get their horses early to condition them
for the show pen or the trails. This leaves the sellers to pay for feed
through the early winter months, but it could be worth it if you take
the proper steps before you sell you horse. It is amazing, but soooo
true that a horse that is shed out will sell higher than a furry horse.
Not everyone can see through the winter hair coat to the fantastic horse
underneath. If you plan on selling in late winter, put your horses
under lights a couple of hours at night, and keep them blanketed and
hooded. This will keep the coat from growing in heavily. Donít forget
to groom your horse, daily if possible, to keep the coat in good
condition. Make sure your blanket was at least somewhat clean before
you use it. I saw a horse blanketed for a few weeks, and under lights,
and when they took the blanket off, the colt was covered with ringworm
fungus due to them not removing blankets to groom.

A horse that is
selling as trained, should be kept exercised, and reminded of their
job. This includes halter broke, trail broke and any thing else you may
be able to market. A few training dollars go a long way in the sales
ring. They will stay looking fit if exercised regularly, and give you
less of an issue when it comes time to illustrate the skill sets they
have. Keep them well fed. If you canít afford to feed them, get rid of
your animals immediately. Do not wait until they are a bag of bones,
and expect folks to purchase them at a decent price. You may want to
take your horse, if possible, to the auction area prior to the actual
auction date. It will give them a chance to adjust to sites, smells and
anything that might seem unusual to them, and of course, this helps them
to act appropriately during the auction.

Your horse should
have its feet trimmed 2 weeks before the auction. If you have them
trimmed to close to auction time they can come up a bit tender
footed,. If your horse is tender footed, you will have to make a
choice whether or not to call your horse sound or not in the auction
ring. If you try and explain, the bidding public will wonder what the
truth is. Right before going into the auction, you can paint the hooves
if you choose to. Most folks use black, but when I have auctioned off
a horse, I usually use clear hoof paint. The clear hoof paint makes the
hoof look very healthy and not dry, and doesnít look like you are trying
to hide any potential faults. If your horse gets trimmed a bit close,
and you need him walking sound, an old farmer told me to put a tiny bit
of iodine inside the hoof wall, and on the frog area. He said that this
will toughen up the tissues there, but you have to VERY careful, because
this can potentially burn or blister if it gets on the hair or skin.

If at all possible,
bathe your horse. Sometimes it is just too cold, and there arenít
indoor facilities available. If this is the predicament you are in, the
best thing you can do is plan ahead, and again, keep them blanketed,
hooded, and groomed constantly. We have a mare that is all white except
for her sorrel medicine hat ears, and she stays very clean and white
with a fly sheet on. You can spot wash a horse much easier than bathing
the entire horse. You can also wash manes and tails out of a bucket,
without freezing the horse. Braid the mane and tail prior to the
auction. When you unbraid it and brush it, it adds a sense of fullness,
and of the horses being cared for. It is a minor thing, but it makes a
major difference. Know your auction. Some of them are old rancher
style auctions, and they may laugh if you bring your horse into the ring
banded and braided with the mane all cut off, but all folks appreciate a
full mane and tail. Bring something to shine up the coat of the horse.
Most folks use ďShow SheenĒ, but there are quite a few brands out
there. Lastly, make sure you post the pedigree, and or photos of the
horse to help advertise and show it to its best advantage. Stay close
to your stall to answer any questions folks might have. Make sure your
horse has adequate water, food and bedding. The care you give your
horse makes an impact on potential purchasers.

On the flip side of
all of this are the bargain hunters. We, (and yes, I fit into this
category!) look for those horses that the owner didnít take the steps I
laid out in the article above. I watch for a great pedigree, good
conformation, possibly underfed, and sometimes injured horses. Injured,
underfed, and ungroomed horses sell substantially lower than they would
have, had the care been available for them. Sometimes people donít know
how to get ready for the auction, a horse injures itself during
transport, or it is an emergency, and you just have to sell as soon as
possible. That filly that I spoke of at the beginning of the article
ended up one heck of a nice horse. The gash healed with minimal care,
she gained weight, and she shed out in the summer. I paid $200 for her
when the horse market was hot, and once I did the foot work of feeding
and caring for her as well as a bit of basic training, I was able to
resell her for a substantial profit. I was glad to spot this diamond
in the rough , and hope to find many others to either keep (like our
white medicine hat filly) or for resale possibilities.